Tiger Devouring Human You

Liang Qu twirled the transparent bead, no bigger than a thumb, feeling utterly bewildered.

More than 2,600 points of Marsh Essence?

In terms of volume, its absorption rate is probably much higher than that of pearls from Old Giant Clam.

If one can absorb it before today, with a total of over 17,000 essences, it might just be possible to break through the fifth barrier in one fell swoop...

Those who have abandoned me, the days of yesterday cannot be retained.

Liang Qu suppressed his thoughts, put the bead into his pocket, and after a while, he couldn't help but take it out again to examine it.

The more I look at it, the more it resembles tears.

The irregularity of pearls from oysters, Sea Snail Pearl, Giant Clam is due to the conditions under which they are formed.

The fruit in front of me is large at one end and small at the other, and at first glance it looks irregular, but it is very smooth and full from top to bottom, as if it was naturally hanging down under tension.

Could it be... Mermaid Tear?

Liang Qu has been visiting the academy less often lately, but he has not stopped reading all kinds of books and has not interrupted his studies. Many miscellaneous writings clearly record the existence of Merfolk, but they have rarely been seen in the last few hundred years.

"Beyond the South Sea live Merfolk who live in the water like fish, yet they do not cease weaving. When they weep, pearls come out of their eyes."

The phrase "The bright moon shines over the vast sea, pearls weep" is not merely a way to express beautiful fantasies.

The Mermaid Silk they produce is so pure that it doesn't get wet when submerged in water, and it's as white as snow.

Some even more ruthless ones would mix a spoonful of shark oil into a vat of clear oil, soak a lamp wick in it, and it could burn for a thousand years without going out.

If it were Mermaid Tear, it would make sense that such a small bead could contain so much Marsh Essence.

Liang Qu looked up. "Round Head, ask Scarhead, where did he get his beads from?"

He couldn't communicate directly with Scarhead and needed Round Head to "translate" for him.

After some discussion.

Scarhead shook his head.

"Don't you know?"

Liang Qu sighed.

According to Scarhead, the beads were discovered by chance by the Little River Porpoise in the group a long time ago when they were playing. At the time, they just thought they were pretty and kept them with them.

As for the location, I can no longer remember it.

It's a pity that a single Mermaid Tear contains so much Marsh Essence. If we could find a tribe and make them cry every day, wouldn't that bring them great wealth? As if sensing the leader's disappointment, Scarhead called out twice, stepped forward, grabbed the corner of Liang Qu's clothes, and pulled him to a certain place.

"Oh?"

Liang Qu did not stop him, and drifted into the River Dolphin ' burrows along the Scarhead, seeing many odds and ends along the way.

A half-person-high Buddha sculpture, a huge figurehead, complete ritual vessels...

All of these are things that the River Dolphin finless porpoises have accumulated little by little over the years.

Goodness, do all intelligent aquatic creatures like to collect human artifacts?

Liang Qu picked up a cong-shaped vase, the inscription on the bottom of which read "Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty".

The official kilns of the previous dynasty were beautiful, with lustrous and restrained glazes, full shapes, and flowing iron-red patterns. However, it was not easy for them to use or sell these pieces.

Let's look at the Buddha sculptures again.

Lifelike, made of extraordinary wood, soaked in water for who knows how many years, yet showing no signs of decay, and standing beside it brought a sense of peace to his mind.

Although it doesn't look particularly special, Liang Qu knows where the good stuff is.

He turned the Buddha statue around and touched its back.

The craftsman who made the Buddha sculpture was a master; his work was almost flawless. However, with a little effort, he still managed to touch a cover plate that was almost invisible.

Knock on it, it's hollow.

Sure enough, there was something there.

When you're out and about, you have to earn the good stuff yourself.

Without a certain level of education, you'll miss out on a lot of things.

After a Buddha statue is built, in order to give it life, it is fitted with symbolic internal organs and Divine Sense.

Generally, it involves placing talismans, scriptures, gold and silver treasures, and other precious items inside the body or seat of a Buddha statue, much like how the human body contains internal organs. This is called "consecration".

The consecration of Buddhism statues is a unique and indispensable ritual.

The Buddhist statues enshrined in temples cannot be opened casually, but this one is only half a person tall and is a wood carving, so it is obviously a private collection and there are not so many taboos.

It's still in the water right now, and if there are scriptures inside, it's not good for them to get wet. We can take it apart later; the Old Monk might like that.

Unexpectedly, before even starting to send the River Dolphin out to search for treasures, they have already made so many unexpected gains.

Scarhead was very happy, and it pulled Liang Qu further in.

"Besides?"

Liang Qu glanced at the pile of "miscellaneous items" and followed Scarhead with a puzzled look.

Bottom of the cave.

The shimmering vines grew and climbed along the rock wall, illuminating the entire cave.

There are many similar Glowing Vine underwater. There was a thick Glowing Vine in the cave where Awei and the Water Ganoderma were first discovered.

The vine was so hard it was practically dead, and it had no Marsh Essence; chewing it felt like gnawing on dry grass.

The vines before them were somewhat similar, so they should be of the same kind. Under the soft glow of the intertwined vines, a forearm-length Azure Gold artifact stood quietly, gleaming with a faint metallic luster, very smooth, as if it had been coated with patina.

Its general image is a simplified tiger head with its mouth wide open, beneath which is a terrified human head. Its two feet and long tail form triangular feet, and its entire body is covered with intricate patterns.

Strangely, even though the tiger's head is very rough and extremely simplified, the terror on the human head is chilling.

In detail, it should be a you, a type of wine vessel.

However, given its bizarre design, it was most likely not intended for practical use, but rather a ritual object.

Tiger Devouring Human You?

The Scarhead on the left was yelling, while the Round Head on the right kept nodding.

"It's alive? And it can even ward off wild beasts?"

Liang Qu was very surprised. He couldn't understand how a metal sculpture that looked like a bronze artifact, but didn't decay when soaked in water and whose material was unknown, could be alive and even be regarded as a totem by the River Dolphin finless porpoises.

"Has any wild animal been harmed by it?"

Liang Qu looked at Round Head, Round Head then looked at Scarhead, Scarhead was taken aback and shook its head.

"They were just driven away; there was no real harm done..."

Such a wondrous sight is why the finless River Dolphin keep it separate from their ordinary "collectibles," placing it specifically in the deepest part of their caves.

After pondering for a while, Liang Qu stepped forward.

No response.

Take another step forward.

Still not.

Strange, what's its method of detection? According to Scarhead, a beast should react as soon as it gets close to the cave, but he's already face-to-face with it and there's still no movement.

Until you get within one step, reach out and grab it.

My fingers grasped at nothing.

Liang Qu looked up and found himself standing thousands of feet in the sky, the world empty and devoid of anything.

Suddenly, a sharp gaze descended from the sky, landing on his head, like a tiger looking down.

He didn't look up; every pore on his body contracted tightly, and the muscles in his back involuntarily tightened, making him stand ramrod straight.

All around, above and below, in the heavens and the sky, there was an oppressive aura like that of mountains.

Suddenly, the Ze Cauldron within his Sea of Consciousness shone brightly.

[Having absorbed a trace of the Tiger Seed Aura, I gained the Tian Wu's Favor and acquired a Yu Mark.]

In the blink of an eye, everything vanished without a trace.

Liang Qu staggered against the stone wall, his pores opening wide as he exhaled a cold sweat.

The Tiger Devouring Human You on the ground shook twice, as if it had lost something and its spirit was gone.